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How well do you know the enemy of your soul? The Bible says we are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices. He has a bag of tricks that he has found to be extremely effective in tripping God’s people up. If we are aware of how he operates we can avoid being caught off guard when he comes against us with these wiles.

I think the attack we are usually waiting for is the direct one. Where he comes charging at us like a roaring lion, teeth bared, blood on his mind. It happens. But we need to remember that he also loves to show up as a slithering serpent. I think this is a far more effective tactic. Because while a direct attack causes us to brace ourselves for impact, when he comes incognito as “an angel of light” we are lulled into complacency and then set up for a sucker-punch.

We see this in action in the Old Testament book of Joshua. Moses had died. Joshua was leading God’s people into the Promised Land. Army after army came against them in battle and each time in the end God’s people came out victorious. But then they were bested by the men from Gibeon. This defeat didn’t take place on the battlefield. There was no actual battle. The Gibeonites won by taking off their weapons, taking a trip to The Salvation Army and digging through the trash behind their local bakery.

It sounds more like an episode of LOST than a story from the Bible, but that’s exactly what these original “others” did. Even though they actually lived 25 miles away they made themselves look like they had traveled hundreds of miles. They made a great show of telling Joshua that they had set out with piping hot bread and brand new clothes, but now their provisions were rotten and their clothes were all old and used. They knew that God’s people were not allowed to make a treaty with a nearby enemy, but they were allowed to do so with a people that lived far away. It worked.

Despite the fact that God had instructed them to take out all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan,Joshua signed the peace treaty promising not to fight with the Gibeonites. You can imagine how surprised and angry Joshua was when he discovered they had deceived him. But there was no going back, he had to honor the truce–he had given his word. As a result they forfeited a portion of what God had promised to them.

You need to understand that in the spiritual battle that you are in today your enemy might try to use this strategy. There could be a Trojan horse that is being readied even as you read this. It might already be inside your gates. Not everyone who seems to have your best interest in mind actually does. There are wolves that wear sheep’s clothing, snakes that will try to make you doubt God’s word. Very friendly people who will do their best to separate you from all the promises that God wants you to walk in. Be careful! Don’t let your guard down. Gird up the loins of your mind and stay alert. According to Joshua 9:14 The reason they fell for this trap was, because, “the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the LORD.” We must walk by faith and not by sight.

When our second daughter was born, my wife and I were given a fancy double stroller as a gift. It has practically every feature you can imagine. I’m not kidding, this thing can do just about everything besides pull you a shot of espresso. One feature that is pretty great is the shock absorbers. The designers made it to where if you are cruising along and one of the two babies on board have a hankering for some off-road strolling, with a flick of your wrist you can engage the shocks and boom! it transitions from race car to 4×4. The travel in the shocks eats up any unevenness in the ground allowing for a smooth ride, even on a bumpy road.

I think about this every so often when I am going into a meeting, situation or interaction that I know will bother me. I’d love to tell you that I never get ticked off or irritated. But I would be lying through my teeth. When I walk away from situations where I have responded poorly to something that has been in my path, I try to analyze what it was that got my goat and remember it. The next time I spot similar terrain coming I intentionally try to prepare myself, asking God for grace and humility that will function as an inner shock absorber so that I can properly respond to the bumps that I am about to go over.

I see this in action in Colossians 3:12. Paul says, Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; (emphasis added) Those characteristics will help smooth out potholes and dips in life but notice, he says we have to put those things on. They don’t just become a part of our daily lives by themselves, they have to be prayerfully engaged. What situation today is going to require you to be a Jeep and not a Ferrari? Engage your inner shock absorbers!

Often times when we are trying to discern the will of God our inclination is to wait. Hold tight. Sit still. Do nothing. Maybe we are freaked out that we will make a wrong decision or perhaps we are waiting for a bush to spontaneously catch fire and tell us what to do, but until we are 100% certain we aren’t budging. I think that oftentimes what we need to do is exactly the opposite. Step out in faith and trust God to either give us favor or close a door.

I think of the computers that are on treadmills and exercise bikes at the gym. The screens stay blank until you start pedaling. You can stand there all day pushing buttons, trying to start a program, but until you start to power it with movement, there is nothing on the display. I think that oftentimes God’s will is powered by motion. When we step out in faith, guided by the instruction He has already given us in His Word, often that is when we begin to get readouts. Stand still for too long and it’ll go blank.

I’m all for waiting on the Lord, taking time to pray, seeking wise counsel, asking God for a sign. But as I read scripture I see a whole lot of stepping out in faith with pretty low levels of certainty as to the outcome. Paul would set out for one city or seek to go to another country with little more than a desire, a hunch. He knew the gospel would “work” in one place as well as another and I don’t see him waiting for a “thus saith the Lord” before moving on. Every once in a while something special would lead him, like a dream, but most often he seemed to follow his gut. Sometimes it worked, other times he got shutdown. Big time. Are we to think he was out of sync with the will of God? If he was, than I’m in big trouble!

I think that it’s possible to miss out on God’s will for our lives because we are sitting on the couch waiting for it to be handed to us on a silver platter instead of getting out and moving towards it. In Genesis 24 Abraham charges a servant with finding a wife for his son Isaac. He had the fate of the entire Jewish nation on the line. No pressure or anything. He could have been seriously stumped by the assignment. Sat at home praying for God to give him a vision of the woman he was to find. Or lead her to him. Instead he got moving. And after he found the perfect bride for Isaac he praised God with these words:

Genesis 24:27 And he said, “Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”

The key to me is the phrase, “being on the way.” Even though he wasn’t certain who he was looking for, he got moving. He started mashing on the pedals and trusted God to guide his steps. He didn’t know which girl he was looking for, but He knew what country he was supposed to start looking in, so he headed there. And God, in His providence, brought him straight to Rebekkah. The screen flickered to life only after he had been putting one foot in front of the other in the dark. I think in our times of uncertainty we should follow suit.

We might not know where He wants us to be ultimately, but we can step out in faith towards what might be His will. Will we take wrong turns? Come to confusing forks in the road? Get turned around? Probably. But I believe that God is capable of using these to bring us to where He wants us. Remember, it was not being able to get into Asia that ultimately brought Paul to Philippi. Looking back, I can say for certain that God has lead me, even though many times I set out in a fog of uncertainty with little more than a sanctified hunch guiding my voyage.

Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

There is no doubt in my mind that some of the worst commercials on tv currently are the ones for 5 hour energy drink. I am pretty sure they round up individuals to be actors off the street and give them no time to rehearse before they start shooting these spots. Each one is a variation of the same story. A bleary-eyed individual bemoans how long it takes to make a pot of coffee/how quickly the spike from a can of soda will wear off before they joyfully discover a vial that will solve all their problems, 5 HOUR ENERGY. After consuming a bottle they perk up and go about their day with bright eyes and a bushy tail.

Every time I see one of these commercials I want to light something on fire or stab my eyes out or both. Maybe I am overreacting a little but they are bad and they seem to come on every time I turn around. Also, they haunt my dreams. With all that being said I do want to make a spiritual comparison–to the product itself, not the campaign because I assure you nothing good could come from that. You see what they have done is taken an entire energy drink and condensed it down to the size of a shot glass, 2 ounces. Because it has no carbonation it can be consumed quickly and on the go. You get the equivalent of a cup of coffee or a redbull in just a sip or two.

We just underwent something similar at freshlife. At the end of last year I challenged the church to read through the New Testament in 30 days starting January first. We also decided to give the first day of 2011 to the Lord in prayer and fasting, specifically in preparation for the launch of our Whitefish campus, but also as a way of giving God the firstfruits of our time in the new year. It was all an initiative added on to the Winter of our Discontent series. Yesterday was the last day of the NT challenge and having crammed so much truth into one small window of time was intense and invigorating. It was a rush to have been in Matthew just 4 weeks ago and to have finished Revelation yesterday. One day our reading assignment was the whole book of Hebrews–talk about high-octane!

Considering our speed (roughly 9 chapters a day) it definitely wasn’t a notice every detail kind of a journey, but covering all these books so quickly you were able to appreciate the forest and the big picture of the greatest story ever told. There are benefits to both scrutinizing and surveying when it comes to going through the Scriptures. My wife and I tried to do half the reading each morning and the other half later in the day to avoid the fatigue where you are no longer processing what you are reading. (shoutout to the staff members I heard about who got behind and were reading 30 chapters a day the last couple days to try and catch up–aka getting nothing out of it.)

I have heard several people say that they are sad to see it end and that they have enjoyed having so much of God’s Word pumped into their veins each day. A few people have asked if they can do it again. Ummm? Yes! Totally! Rock it in February. See how many times you can make it through this year. Or bust out the Old Testament in the next couple months and turn it into a 90 day challenge. My wife and I are going to do the New Testament again but slow it down to 60 days to make it more bite size. Whatever you do, keep carving out a daily time to systematically work your way through God’s Word! While I can’t promise that you won’t have a 2:30 feeling, but you will definitely have more spiritual energy and it will keep you from crashing later.

God’s Word doesn’t return void!

Psalm 19:7–11 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.

I saw a rerun of an episode of NBC’s show The Office a while back. I can’t remember where I was, maybe a layover or something, but a scene from the show has been playing in my mind the last few weeks. BTW that is one reason why we need to be careful to monitor what we watch–it takes only a few moments to watch something and then it’s in the hard drive of our mind for years to come. I am often amazed at how my mind is able to remember certain things so well and other things so poorly. I can recall every single line of dialogue from movies like The Princess Bride or Home Alone, but names, birthdays, my anniversary, and other vital details often escape me.

But I digress, back to the episode of The Office that I was talking about. The character played by Steve Carell is the boss, Michael Scott. The regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Paper in Scranton, Pennsylvania to be more precise. And for some reason, in this particular episode, he has come to the conclusion that the morale around the office is low, and the only solution is to have a birthday party. Parties make people happy, right?

The problem is, according to the party planning committee, no one has a birthday coming up any time soon. He is not to be deterred. The next closest birthday is a girl named Meredith but it is not for several months. He decides to go on with the celebration anyway and sets the party planning committee to work in the conference room only to reappear moments later to not-so-subtly suggest that an ice cream cake would be a big hit at the party. They let him know that it would be a very bad idea due to the fact that birthday girl is allergic to dairy. Nevertheless, he insists that an ice cream would be delicious and since she (THE BIRTHDAY GIRL) isn’t going to be the only one eating it they should definitely get one.

Later in the show, after a number of unbelievably rude and yet quintessential Michael Scott moments, everyone is milling about at the awkwardly early birthday. Michael approaches Meredith, while stuffing his face with ice cream cake, and wonders why she isn’t having any. When she tells him that she is allergic to dairy he exclaims, “If I was allergic to dairy I’d kill myself!” Epic party fail. I don’t think you could possibly do a worse job honoring someone which, last time I checked, is the big idea of a birthday party.

But what has been rolling around in my head is that what has become the norm for Christmas celebration in our day might just take the cake as far as botching the job of honoring someone on “their day” goes. We have managed to turn the birth of Christ into a selfish, frantic, spendathon that is wracked with debt, grief, anxiety and short tempers (has anyone else been to the post office lately?) When we turn from: generosity, worship and simplicity and we choose: stress, greed and clutter; we need to recognize that whatever else we are doing–we are certainly not honoring Christ. For all practical purposes we are dishing up stuff He is allergic to–wait, did we even remember to invite Him to the party?

I don’t write this to try and make you feel guilty. The whole point of Christmas is that Christ came to remove our guilt by dying our death. And this isn’t a “you naughty American buying your kid an iPod–there are kids in the world who don’t even have a goat.” For the record, Jesus pointed out that when we give good gifts we are acting like our Heavenly Father and showing what He is like. My heart is to inspire a sense of wonder about what Christmas could and should be if we were to plan the party based on the preferences of the guest of honor. Ironically, I write this having just returned from a birthday party where, not tooting my own horn or anything, I definitely did not pull a Michael Scott. We did our research and found out something our friend had been wanting and bought that. I did my best to look for opportunities throughout the celebration to make sure he knew he was valued and loved. That is what birthdays are all about. Christ’s birthday should have more of that element and not less.

So, perhaps we should be asking ourselves the question, what would bring a smile to Christ’s face? What to give a God who has everything? Surely the thoughtful gifts that we give to those we love are meaningful to Him. I think He would be delighted by us making a conscious effort to slow down and be in the moment more, tuning out competing distractions so we can live deeply; drinking in His divine approval of the things that truly matter (people) and showing His love to those around us. Seeing as how there is only one building project that Christ ever began, the church, (Matt 16:18) we should invest generously in His work, giving to our local churches. In so doing we are taking part in His one and only plan for changing the world. But I am convinced the greatest way to honor Him, at Christmastime and every time, is to be still and know that He is God. Laugh. Smile. Worship Him. Thank Him. Adore Him.

Oh yeah, you might want to make sure Fuller goes easy on the Pepsi.